Traffic deaths in California are down more than nine percent for 2006. The highway patrol says it's the biggest decrease in nearly a decade.

C-H-P Officer Steve Day gets called to the very worst accidents. He’s part of a special team that investigates how crashes happen….and says he hopes the nine percent drop in traffic deaths last year is part of a new trend:

“I would love to be out of a job tomorrow, personally.”

CHP Commissioner Mike Brown says this is the first time in several years there’s been a decrease at all. He attributes it to more public education and enforcement efforts in three main areas:

“That’s principally, folks, what kills people in this state: Speed, not wearing a seatbelt, or driving under the influence.”

Brown says they’ll continue their efforts and hope to bring the numbers down even more. He adds the number of people buckling up has increased – it’s up to 93.4 percent overall….and for the first time is over 90 percent in teens.